One mom's ideas

Just say NO to anxiety

There is never a day that goes by that it doesn’t show its ugly head. Day in and day out I find a different way to panic over something small that has happened. Every day It seems as if I handle it worse than before. But how do I stop?

Anxiety is real.

It is the one that likes to be in charge. It thinks it can come and go as it pleases. It cares very little about the people who get hurt in the process of a fit.

In a world where mental illness has been looked down on for so long, this is still the one that people love to say people make it up just to excuse bad behavior. To those who believe that, I dare you to live in someone’s head when this happens. Try to explain to yourself that it is fake, that you are making it a bigger deal then what it really is. See if it listens to you any better than it listens to us. When you fail, which you will, then I would love for you to come back and apologize instead of mock us. I would love to see understanding in your eyes instead of disbelief that we CHOSE to do this AGAIN.

It humbles me to realize that I have only just begun to fight this battle just in the last ten years or so, and it is still a very small fight in the grand scheme of people who deal with this. I can leave my house, go to work, be in social settings sometimes, and many of other things that I have heard can be problematic to others. I have very set triggers mostly now, in which I am learning coping mechanisms for. Sooner rather than later I may end up talking to a doctor about better options. For now, it’s a day-to-day battle for me.

Anxiety is only a very small part of me. One that has been happening all along since I started having children more than likely, but was low-key enough that I didn’t recognize any warning signs. No one felt the need to bring it up to me. This could be because of the stigmata that came along with any mental illness, or it could be that I was masking it so well that it was truthfully not seen by anyone including myself.

I bring this up not because it is a topic I enjoy, but because it is something that I know is an everyday problem for many of people. I know that I am not alone, and I know that the only way to fix a stigmata is to speak about it instead of hide it.

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12 thoughts on “Just say NO to anxiety”

Sadly there is still a currency of ‘pick yourself up, dust yourself off’ and ‘don’t worry it’ll all work out in the end’ in our culture. Which is fine for people who aren’t ill. But it is getting better (be it slowly) by raising awareness and its great that there are people like you doing this 😀

Great post, I didn’t realise until after I’d written my bit for today we both tackled the same subject matter, it’s a battle I’ve also been fighting for along time now and glad it’s finally starting to be looked at by the masses.

Thank you for the follow, Kim. I have reciprocated. I have periodic panic
attacks that wake me in the middle of the night, so I empathize with your plight. On most occasions, my bladder is full, so there might be a physical trigger as well. What helps me is closing my eyes, taking in several deep breaths, and telling myself, “It’s only anxiety. It’s not real. It will pass.” St. John’s Wort also helps. Wishing you grace and strength to overcome ♥

Thank you so much for writing this and for putting the topic out there. It’s really important. The more we talk about it and put it out there, it seems to deflate anxiety. It doesn’t like to be named and shamed.
A family friend’s husband committed suicide a few weeks ago.He was a very successful chef here in Australia, and it was such a shock.The obvious questions fired up and I went through to Chefs With Issues. There were some really interesting stories and insights: http://chefswithissues.com/
I battle with anxiety. Not ust with those situations which make me anxious, but also the whole concept of anxiety. I have had some life-threatening health challenges, which naturally takes you way beyond anxiety and onto another planet entirely. For me, it’s been hard to separate anxiety as a natural response to a situation and what is classified as a mental illness.
I also get baffled by the things which make me anxious and break out in a sweat versus those which don’t. I get quite nervous driving and yet I can do public speaking without too much trouble, especially with a familiar audience. I have done a little bit of motivational speaking.
Time has eased my anxiety about my health, despite time not entirely being my friend.The other thing that’s helped is getting out there and doing. Taking action. Start out with small steps and they soon start adding up and you’ll realize you’re in quite a different place to where you started out from.I also find the breathing exercises, walking, getting some sunshine. I must admit that I love a bit of chocolate late at night.
Take care and best wishes,
Rowena

Anxiety is a very big witch with a B that doesn’t care what you think. It can just take you over within a matter of seconds and you have no idea how to get out let alone how you got there. It is one of the most misunderstood, mistreated conditions.
With awareness, hopefully more people can be helped, and not feel like a stigma.